


Bitter and Sweet

by lessiehanamoray



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Coffee Shops, Conversations, Gen, Post-Game(s), Soft Goro Week 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:33:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25229131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lessiehanamoray/pseuds/lessiehanamoray
Summary: Ann and Goro have a heartfelt conversation at a coffee shop. They attempt to keep it light and just get to understand each other as people.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 11
Collections: Day 2 - Coffee and Sweets





	Bitter and Sweet

Ann Takamaki and Goro Akechi stared at each other from across the cafe table. Akira had left to...something, leaving the two of them suddenly alone and unsure.

"So...Akira mentioned you like hanging out at cafes."

Really? That was what she wanted to talk about? Goro could think of a thousand and one more productive topics of conversation. Then again, maybe this was better.

"They're usually quiet."

"Oh, that makes sense. You used to hang out at Leblanc a lot, right?"

"To keep track of Akira," Goro admitted. Ann's lips puckered like she'd just bitten a lime. "It was not an unpleasant task,” he added, hoping to assuage her irritation. “The boss makes quite good coffee, and it's a pleasant place to sit with a book."

Ann’s expression softened. "Yeah. We used to study there a lot, even after Akira went home."

"I'm sure Futaba found it helpful."

Ann nodded. "She did start out behind in a couple of subjects, but we got her caught up nice and fast."

"I'm sure she could have managed alone."

Ann crossed her arms in front of her. "Just because you can do something alone, don't mean you should. And it definitely doesn't mean you should have to."

Goro sighed and stared into his coffee. It wasn't as good as the brew he ordered at Leblanc, but after a long day clothes shopping, it felt nice to relax for a bit.

Ann sighed. "Sorry if it's not what you want to hear."

"It's fine."

"Then why do you look so down?"

"Just a different outlook on the world."

"How so?"

"You have to do things on your own. It's the only way to push yourself. To force improvement. The last thing you want is to rely on someone else. No matter who they are, they won't always be there."

"Akechi-kun."

"I thought we agreed you should treat me more familiarly,” he snapped. He’d come in prepared to discuss personal issues, but not that such topics arose, he found himself just irritated.

"Oh, right." Ann forced a smile. "I didn't mean to bring the mood down."

"It's fine. I don't know what to do when everyone's happy anyway."

Ann leaned forward. Time to shift the subject. "What do you think Akira's up to?"

Goro shrugged. "Who knows?"

"Well, guess."

"It could be anything from grabbing an item he saw earlier to helping a kidnapped child."

Ann's smile stopped looking so forced. It even cracked into a straight-up grin. "That does sound like him."

"He'll be back when he's back."

"Yeah." Ann absentmindedly twirled a strand of her blonde hair. "I wonder if he wanted to leave us alone. To force us to talk."

"We don't have to talk." Honestly, Goro would have felt perfectly happy to sit in silence. He didn't like small-talk. Even if such talk happened openly and with every intention to better understand each other.

Ann glanced over to the case of sweets at the front. "Wanna get a snack too?"

"What did you have in mind?"

"Hmm, they have some tasty looking cakes."

Ah, yes. She loved cake. He'd almost forgotten. If they were to form a bond, perhaps he should actually try to remember such details.

"What type do you prefer?"

"Me?" Ann pointed at herself, wide eyes full of playful innocence. "I'm not really picky. I pretty much love all sweets."

"Heh. You sound like me."

"Really?" Ann wrapped her hands around her tea mug.

"I'm not a very picky eater," Goro explained. "I have preferences, I suppose, but ultimately I eat just about everything."

"Oh yeah. You ran a food blog, didn't you? You must have eaten a lot of different things for that."

He nodded. "Just an attempt to increase my popularity. As you're well aware, there are practical elements to building a reputation."

"You mean both in show business and the metaverse, don't you?"

"I suppose this time I dampened the mood."

Ann shook her head. "Not really. I mean, ignoring the elephant in the room isn't exactly the PT style, you know? Even if we're trying not to push. Even if it's kind of scary.” She smiled gently. “I'm happy when you open up to me."

Who knew someone could have so many different smiles?

Goro had never particularly respected Ann Takamaki. Never really had any opinion on her really, but her openness felt refreshing. "I actually rather enjoyed writing my blog. It forced me to try new foods, and gave me an excuse to stay abreast of popular eateries."

"Any perfect places for cake?"

"Well, you already know about the Wilton buffet. It's one of the best in Shibuya."

"So there are other excellent places in Tokyo?"

Goro nodded. "My favorite cake came from a small bakery. No seating, and you had to pre-order. You could come right before they closed. They sometimes had cakes someone couldn’t pick up, and they never sold day old.”

"You're making my mouth water."

"I haven't even described the cake yet." 

"I bet it's good if people are willing to go through all that trouble for it."

"You'd be surprised how rarely that's true.”

“Really?”

Goro nodded. This felt good. Open and honest, but not too scary.

“Oftentimes, somewhere just gets popular. A good review from a popular blogger or critic can make even the mediocre seem incredible. Word of mouth too. If you can convince someone your product is incredible, it tends to hold. It’s really no different than changing cognition. Everyone says it's good, so it must be."

"Does that really happen a lot?"

"All the time. Think about it. How often have you heard a song and thought you didn't like it, only to 'warm up' to it after everyone keeps talking it up, and being forced to listen to the same rubbish all the time. It's not like the song suddenly improved.”

"Wait. Yusuke said something about this. Apparently, it happens in art a lot. Someone says something's famous, so everyone suddenly loves it. He said, an artist’s popularity can skyrocket the moment a collector is willing to pay tons for it."

"I'm rather surprised he's developed that much awareness of the fine art world. He's right though. Familiarity breeds comfort. Comfort breeds fondness. That’s why when you hear a bunch of people talking about something, or you're exposed to the same drawing or music over and over again, the familiarity intrinsically enhances your fondness. It's really not so different from nostalgia."

"And this applies to blogs too?"

Goro nodded. "I think so. When you read a good review from a blogger you like, you're inclined to immediately give something its chance. You want to think the best of it, and you already have some sense of what to expect. If it matches those expectations, you're thrilled."

"But what if it doesn't?"

"That leads to a feeling of betrayal, and is a quick way to lose followers. It's one thing to use flowery language and carefully planned pictures, but even a food blogger needs accuracy."

"You were really into it, weren't you?"

"I suppose. It wasn't my idea originally, but it became a bit of an excuse to take some time to myself. A way to relax after a difficult day."

"You had a lot of those, didn't you?"

"More than I can count."

Ann rested her elbows on the table, chin on interlaced fingers. "And what did the famous Goro Akechi order when he needed to treat himself?"

"Treat myself? Hmm. So something I wouldn't usually get."

"Yeah. Something maybe a little more expensive or caloric than you’d eat normally."

Goro thought about it a moment before answering. He wanted to answer honestly, but his instinct to answer with something she’d like felt overwhelming. Then again, his brain was already on cake. 

"A nice coffee with just a bit of cream, and a dark chocolate cake to go with it."

"Really? I thought you didn't like cake."

With a shrug, Goro replied, "I like the flourless cakes. When the chocolate's really rich and dark, and every bite melts in your mouth. It’s especially good with unsweetened coffee. They balance each other nicely."

"Huh, I guess chocolate and coffee do go together. Like chocolate covered coffee beans."

"I don't think I've ever had those," Goro admitted.

"You see them all the time in America. Coffee shops like to sell them as a snack. They're pretty expensive though, sometimes at least. Coffee candy was actually pretty popular over there."

"From what I see from Starbucks here they prefer lightly coffee scented milkshakes."

Ann snickered. "I guess their frappuccinos do resemble milkshakes."

"More than they resemble coffee."

"I like them though."

"You like sugar."

"You ran that blog somehow."

"I suppose. What about you? What does the popular young model get when she needs to treat herself?"

"Hmmm. When I absolutely want to feel better," Ann mused, "I mean, I like pretty much all sweets. Though I do have a super soft spot for fluffy cakes. Oh! I also like tarts. A good fruit tart is amazing, and I love cakes with berries or citrus."

"Citrus?"

"Yeah. I don't know why, but I'm obsessed with orange zest."

"Really?"

"I know. It's weird, but a fluffy vanilla cake with a soft orange frosting...that's my favorite. I've only ever gotten it one place before, but once you experience truly great frosting you can't help but try to find similar quality. A lot of bakeries just serve the same stuff, and it's hard to find a place that really excels in frosting. Alternatively, they think it's enough to cover up a bad base cake. Urgh. It drives me nuts." She glanced back over to the display case. "I mean, all of that's beautiful, and I like a good display, but what's the point if it doesn't taste good?"

Ann sighed. "Of course, I still haven't met a cake I don't like. I've just also now met cakes I really, really like. It's hard not to be a little disappointed when something looks just as good, but isn't."

"If it weren't for the beautiful presentation, would it tantalize you in the first place?"

"I guess not." Ann leaned back in her seat. "Not so different from people, is it? There has to be something that causes you to give them a chance in the first place, and first impressions really matter."

"That's a more mature take than I expected from you." Oops. He’d been snide.

"Oh, come on." Ann moved forward again. "I model, you know. That's all about giving a strong first impression. My job is to get someone to pick up that magazine, or to decide they want to check out a new clothing line."

Oh good. Maybe he’d come across as more teasing than snide. Figuring out the line between those two gave Goro worlds of trouble.

"Did you really understand that when you started out though?"

Ann slumped. "No. I just thought it was about the clothes. It took Mika for me to realize just how much there really is to modeling. I mean, I knew it was a lot of work, but it took me a long time to understand why all that work is really worth it. I mean, what did you really get from all your television appearances? Those were all about presenting yourself a certain way too."

"Yes. They were." Goro took a careful sip of his coffee. Bitter and far too acidic. "I wanted to know how it felt, having all eyes on me." He gently placed his cup back on the table. "And, as we've already mentioned, mementos factored in as well. The first time I couldn't find a target..." His voice trailed off.

"Shido doesn't seem like he'd take a lot of excuses."

"No, and even the scientists never truly grasped the danger involved. When I first reported a palace, no one really understood what that meant."

"Was it Shido's?"

Goro shook his head. "His distortion existed, but I don't think it really took shape until he felt confident he'd win. At the time I met him, a whole slew of scandals had struck. That was the opening I used, but at the time I didn’t realize just how much you could do with shadows. I had experimented a little, but didn't understand. There's a very real chance I killed people I didn't mean to."

"You never had a guide," Ann whispered. “I mean, we already had Morgana by the time we took down Kamoshida.”

"Yeah, but I didn’t. Not until I met Shido, and he just cared about results. He knew enough to use the tool, but he never understood it."

"He never understood you."

Did all conversations nosedive back into uncomfortable territory so quickly?

"In all fairness, most people don't. Even as a little kid, I confused my peers and my teachers." He once more lifted his coffee cup, tilting it forward in a mock toast. Maybe conversations were just met to fluctuate. "For instance, I have always preferred dark chocolate. And I have always drunk tea and coffee."

"Seriously? I didn't start drinking coffee until I had some at Leblanc, and even now I'm super picky."

"You learn to enjoy the variety. He does make a nice mellow brew though. I don't even need cream in his coffee."

"I still use some," Ann admitted, "and I have a hard time drinking it on its own. Paired with that curry though? It's amazing. And I bet you're right about enjoying it with sweets."

"I'll see if that bakery is still around. They did a decent variety if you warned them ahead of time."

"I wouldn't mind trying that chocolate cake you mentioned. After all, you did specify it goes well with coffee. Might be nice to try something sweet with Boss's coffee for a change."

"It's a date then."

Ann lifted her own mug to tap against his. “You bet.”

**Author's Note:**

> My second piece for Soft Goro Week. Soft Goro is really hard for me to write, but I hope you enjoyed him and Ann just getting to know each other.


End file.
